Many packaging applications use resealable containers to store various types of articles and materials. These packages may be used to store and ship food products, non-food consumer goods, medical supplies, waste materials, and many other articles. Resealable packages are convenient in that they can be closed and resealed after the initial opening to preserve the enclosed contents. The need to locate a storage container for the unused portion of the products in the package is thus avoided. As such, providing products in resealable packages appreciably enhances the marketability of those products.
Resealable packages typically utilize a closure mechanism that is positioned along the mouth of the package. The closure mechanism often comprises profile elements or closure profiles that engage one another when pressed together and to disengage when pulled apart. Some packages also include a slider device that can be moved back and forth across the mouth of the package to open and close the closure mechanism. In many cases, the slider device includes some sort of plow or spreader device that serves to drive apart the closure profiles as it is moved along the closure mechanism, thereby opening the package. In the manufacturing process, the slider device is usually attached to the closure mechanism while the closure profiles are closed. The closure profiles are provided with a notch at one end. The slider device is placed on the closure profile at the notch, giving the spreader a starting point from which to penetrate the engaged closure profiles.
One reason for attaching the slider to the closure mechanism while the closure profiles are engaged is that it is often difficult to align an open set of closure profiles in the small and curved spaces between the walls of the slider device and the outside of the spreader. As a result of having to attach the slider to a closed package, it is necessary to move the slider device along the closure mechanism to open the package so the package may be filled with product. It is therefore desirable to provide a method of attaching a slider device to an open closure mechanism to eliminate the additional manufacturing step.